Ask a Manager

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My HR rep demanded to read through my email

Today, the HR rep for my main worksite (but not the rep responsible for my for my division) came into my office, told me she needed to check my email immediately, and asked me to log in. She then sat at my desk, reformatted Outlook to her preferences, and read through my email. She then did the same with another of my office-mates, and then left. She said that this was an HR matter, and nothing to do with me personally.

I’m baffled. Is this normal? I assume that all my work emails can be accessed at any time, remotely, but I’ve never encountered something like this.

I’m a little concerned because she didn’t already have have log-in privileges for my workstation, and also that I didn’t get a chance to shut down other client-centered applications with sensitive information that this HR rep is not supposed to be privileged to view. Honestly, I was so taken aback by this that it only occurred to me in hindsight. What on earth is going on here? By the way, I never send anything personal from my work email, so I am completely at a loss.

I have no idea either, but it’s absolutely reasonable to ask about it. I’d start with your manager: “Jane came in today, told me to log into my computer, and then sat at my desk and read through my email. She didn’t explain why, and then just left. What’s going on?”

2. My manager has asked us for brutally honest feedback

My manager wants our team to give her a written evaluation and then discuss our feedback with her in a one-on-one. This is not something HR is asking of her, but something she wants to do to better herself. She wants us to be “brutally honest” and it will stay just between us. First off, who does this? Isn’t there a major conflict of interest here? How can I be honest with out her holding some sort of grudge? I’m the next manager down from her, so I’m walking on eggshells to be brutally honest. She is the person who would help promote me.

Is this common of managers? How do I respond?

It’s certainly not uncommon. In fact, good managers actively solicit input from their staff members, and some of them do it in the form of written evaluations or 360s. The key, though, is that in order to get candid, useful feedback, they need to have first established an environment in which people know it will be safe to speak candidly.

So, what do you know of your manager? Does she have a track record of taking feedback well? Or does she get defensive and shoot the messenger? How candid you can be will depend on that. But there’s nothing inherently outrageous about the idea itself.

3. One recruiter said the job is contract, but another said it’s permanent

My boyfriend is job seeking, and recently he was contacted by a recruiter for a six-month contract position for a company nearby. Although he’d prefer a permanent position, he agreed to a phone interview so as not to leave any stone unturned and on the off chance he might be able to sell himself so well they hire him direct.

The day before his phone interview, a different recruiting company called about the same job but he said it’s permanent. My boyfriend was honest, told him what happened, and asked this guy if he was sure it’s permanent, and the guy said yes. And afterward we found it on the company website and confirmed that to be the case. The second recruiter, being ethical, said he’d keep him in mind for other jobs since he was already working with someone else on that one.

My boyfriend decided to proceed with the phone interview as if he did not have the knowledge they really had a permanent position. He’s confident that the company and this first recruiter will be contacting him for an in-person interview. At what point should be mention his knowledge that they want someone permanent and to whom should he broach this with?

I’d reach out to the original recruiter and just be straightforward — explain what happened, and ask if she has any insight.

(Also, just to clear something up about that second recruiter: Because your boyfriend had already been submitted to the company by the first recruiter, that recruiter “owns” his candidacy there. The second one can’t submit him, and wouldn’t earn a commission if he got the job, even if she did submit him. So it’s not that she was being ethical by backing off when she learned about the first recruiter; she was just following normal recruiting practice. I mean, she wasn’t being unethical either — but I think you might have read something into that that wasn’t quite right.)

4. My boss won’t let me volunteer one day a week while I’m preparing to wrap up my internship

I’m OP 4 from this post. I have an update on my situation that I am unsure how to handle. I’m currently in a paid internship that ends in a few weeks, and I’m doing everything I can to enter this other company (that one I talked about previously) because I’m very passionate about the work they do. I was turned down for two different positions, but have made connections and have decided to try and get volunteer experience within the organization.

I have made (what I think is) a very reasonable request to my boss to take off one day a week to volunteer. He turned me down, saying that I he needs me around and that I’m invaluable. I know I don’t have any opportunities to stay, so this isn’t helping me. I’m very frustrated. I haven’t had much luck in the company that I intern with or anywhere else. I really think this volunteer experience will help me. How do I bring this back up to my boss without sounding desperate? What can I do?

If your position ends in a few weeks, why not just start the volunteering then? Pushing your boss on this after he’s already said no isn’t likely to go over well, and you’re really so close to your ending date that it doesn’t make sense to leave on that note.

5. Am I wrong to keep my boss in the dark about looking for another job?

I don’t understand. I do not see the benefit to telling your boss that you have a job interview or even a job offer before anything is set in stone. Yet when two of my direct reports told me this, my own boss thought it was the right thing for them to do. I myself have been applying for jobs and had an interview. Am I being unprofessional by keeping my boss in the dark?

Nope. It’s very normal to be discreet when job-searching.

If you happen to have the rare manager who has a track record of making it safe to tip her off when you’re starting to think about moving on, you might handle this differently — although even then, you’re not obligated to.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My boss keeps touching my hand

My boss will sometimes touch my arm or hand. Most of the time I think that he does it to get my attention, although lately he seems to be doing it more often. But that could just mean that he is comfortable with me as I’m his secretary?

One afternoon, he grasped my fingers in both of his hands – he was asking me to do something, but he then held on to my fingers for a strangely long time. I flipped my wrists, effectively breaking the contact. Also, he has now taken to telling me that I am “perfect.” I arranged something tricky for him, and he touched my arm, smiled, and told me that I’m perfect.

I’ve noticed that he doesn’t touch any of the other employees, only me. I don’t know what way to take this and would appreciate an outside perspective.

Tell him that you’d like the touching to stop. This doesn’t have to be a big, awkward conversation that causes tension in your relationship — it’s all in how you say it. For instance: “Oh, I’m not a toucher!” — said cheerfully and briskly and then moving right along to something work-related.

If he continues after that or does anything else that makes you feel like he’s violating your boundaries, then it’s a more serious issue. But try this first and see it if solves the problem.

2. My manager sounded thrilled with my work, but my written review was less glowing

I have a question about performance reviews. My work is project-based and I work on five or six projects at any given time. Leaders from these projects gave input for my first performance review, and based on my interactions with them throughout the year, I was expecting pretty positive feedback. During my meeting with my supervisor to discuss the review, my supervisor said really positive things like “I got comments from your project leaders that you were a rock star on X project, indispensable on Z project, couldn’t have done it without you on Y project…” That was really great to hear, but then I discovered that in the written review that’s going into my HR file (which my supervisor wrote), the praise is all flat. It contains phrases like “competent project manager,” “able to juggle assignments well,” and “speaks articulately.” There is no mention of any of the really strong praise that I had heard personally throughout the year as well as from my supervisor in the review meeting itself.

Do you have any idea why that might be the case? Should I have asked my supervisor about why he didn’t include that praise? I didn’t really realize the discrepancy in the reviews until after our meeting was over and now I think I’ve waited too long to bring it up. I’m worried that this is going to set me up for a low raise when I feel that the quality of my work merits a more substantial one.

Some people are far less effusive in writing than they are in conversation, which might be the explanation here. But it’s absolutely reasonable to ask about it. I’d say something like, “Could I ask you about my written evaluation? When we’d talked, I had the sense that you were giving me a very positive assessment, but when I read the written review, it seemed a lot more tempered. I came away from our in-person conversation thinking I’d really done a great job, but the written review has me less sure.”

3. What’s the point of giving bonuses?

Please explain to me the point of bonuses in the workplace. I understand bonuses for exceeding sales quotas for sales people or a “sharing of the wealth” when a company has a spectacular year. But why give employees an “incentive” for what is basically doing the job they were hired to do? CEO’s who get many times their salary to efficiently manage a company, admission coordinators in health care who admit people, middle managers that get a bonus for the company meeting goals when they have no ability to affect those goals. How do these bonuses benefit the company?

Like any other compensation, they’re part of retaining and (to some extent) motivating people. Some bonuses mean “you did an exceptionally good job this year.” Others mean “the company did exceptionally well this year and we want to share some of the results of that with you.” That kind of thing builds loyalty in people and makes them feel like the company recognizes their work and like they’re sharing in its success.

You might think that the company could accomplish the same thing with a raise, but it’s often easier to give bonuses than raises — raises are generally permanent and can put people in a salary category that doesn’t quite make sense for their role. Bonuses allow you to give an extra shot of compensation without making it a forever thing.

4. What recruitment data should I be tracking?

I work for a nonprofit without an HR dept and I’ve inherited the intern recruitment process. (I work in marketing, so I don’t have training in recruitment.) We have a fairly competitive program, with dozens of applications each semester. But I’m not sure what (if anything) I should be tracking during recruitment.

I keep track of all the applications each semester, of course, so I can set up interviews and let candidates know if they’ve been selected or not. But after I’ve selected a candidate and notified the others, is it typical to keep some kind of spreadsheet or record of the past applications? Or is there something else people typically track when they’re recruiting?

It sounds like you’re not using an electronic application system, but rather just accepting resumes and cover letter that don’t get put into any broader system? That’s totally fine, and often makes perfect sense for smaller organizations. In that context, there’s not really much you need to track. I’d separate out any applications that are strong enough that you think you might want to reach out to them about future openings. And you might want to have a record of who’s applied for a job in the past and what they’ve applied for — in case they apply again, or someone else in your organization is meeting with them for some other reason. But that’s not necessary, just something some organizations find useful to do.

Some organizations also track stats on the demographics of their candidate pool, so they can watch to make sure that they’re recruiting and hiring a demographically diverse staff. But that’s usually something you don’t see with smaller organizations, in part because of the resources it takes to collect that information and in part because smaller employers aren’t typically subject to required EEOC reporting.

Also, you’re required by law to keep all applications filed away somewhere for one year (and for two years if you’re aware that the applicant is over 40 — which means you should just keep them all for two years to make it easier), in case an applicant later sues (so that their materials and your notes are available for any litigation). But other than that, there’s no standard set of stuff to track.

5. Does my employer have to give me time off to interview while I’m in my notice period?

I am looking to hand in my notice tomorrow and as yet still have to seek new employment. I just can’t take my current boss’s mood swings, screaming, shouting, and throwing stuff (not at me) any longer. But by law am I allowed to ask for time off to attend interviews while I am working my notice period? I know once I hand in my notice, he is going to be really difficult about things. I would just like to know the rules/laws of where I stand.

You’re certainly allowed to ask, but your employer isn’t obligated to grant you time off for interviewing. However, since you haven’t started job searching yet, it’s probably going to be a non-issue — it’s unlikely that you’re going to have interviews scheduled in the next two weeks if you haven’t sent out applications yet.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. A horrible coworker listed me as a job reference

This past year, I worked with a woman fresh out of college who was lazy. She dropped a roll of tape and it rolled away from her and she asked me to walk over and get it for her because “I’m too lazy.” She didn’t like to do her assigned tasks and frequently left them for others to do. She claimed she was “too old” for some of her job duties. I am 15 years older than her and I do those duties as well. She also spent hours of work time taking Buzzfeed quizzes on shared computers without deleting her browsing history. At the time, I was an equal as far as our job titles. She has since “resigned” and I have been promoted to the director position.

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a message that this woman has used me as a reference on her job application to a university. I have several concerns: (1) She didn’t ask and I cannot give a positive reference. (2) I am in my first professional managerial position and want to handle this professionally. (3) I do not want to be associated with her professionally and am wondering if I should contact her about not using my name on her job applications.

The fact that she’s listed you as a reference doesn’t imply you’ve endorsed her work, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that, but if you want to, it’s certainly reasonable to contact her and say, “Hey, I had a heads-up that you listed me as a reference on a recent job application. I don’t feel that I can provide a positive reference, so please don’t provide my name.” But you’re not obligated to do that. If she’s ridiculous enough to handle a job that way and then list you as a reference … well, there’s an argument to not protecting her from the natural consequences of that decision, which are that if you’re contacted to speak about her work, you’ll tell the truth. You’d certainly be doing future employers a favor.

(And yes, people can and do change their work habits — but I don’t think that’s happened yet here, as evidenced by her lack of self-awareness in listing your name.)

2. Company won’t pay for meals on work travel

I just started working for a company that now wants me to travel 400+ miles each way four times a year on a non-work day (Saturday). I don’t mind the travel, but today I have an issue with Saturday and was told they will reimburse for gas and hotel only, no per diem, no meals, no miles or extras. Is this legal? Why would I spend my own money to travel to meetings on behalf of a company I am only an employee for?

Yes, it’s legal. It’s normal for companies to reimburse for gas or mileage, but not both (mileage is supposed to include gas costs, as well as wear and tear). It would be smart of them to reimburse for meals while you’re away, since not doing so is likely to cause resentment. It would be reasonable for you to say something like, “I’m glad to do this travel, but I’m finding it costs me about $X each time for meal costs that I wouldn’t incur at home, where I have a kitchen. Since that’s an expense that I’m paying only because of the trip, I’d like to submit those expenses for reimbursement. Maybe we could agree on a daily limit for meals?”

That said, if they refuse, we’re talking about four days a year. If you otherwise like your job, it might be worth dealing with, annoying as it is.

3. My phone interview was canceled and hasn’t been rescheduled yet

I am a graduate student looking for full-time work (I have one class to complete my MA). I have been applying like mad to multiple places that are in my field, outside of my field in interesting, relevant positions, all entry level. I finally got a hit back from a place I was really interested in for an entry level position and they arranged a Skype interview.

12 hours before it was supposed to happen, I received an email from a department head saying that they needed to reschedule my interview to another time and to forward my availability to someone else. I did that, and 72 hours have passed. I had one phone number available from my initial email contact with the HR recruiter, so I called it and left a message and still have not gotten a response.

The position still shows as open. Is this something that normally happens? They responded very quickly to my resume/cover letter after submitting it (4 days) which was incredibly encouraging. I am working on other applications, but this company has a culture/work ethic/style that I would love to be a part of.

Yes, it’s pretty common. Hopefully they’ll get back in touch with you, but it’s possible that they’ve since moved on with other candidates and aren’t bothering to tell you — which is rude but widespread.

What often happens in this situation is that they simply find other promising candidates who meet their bar for in-person interviews, and they’re moving forward with those. If you’re better than those, they might still get back in touch — but they don’t have reason to think you’ll be more competitive than those, they might not. Alternately, they might still get back to you but just have higher priorities to deal with right now. There’s no real way to know — but your best bet is to follow up by email one more time (a week after the first email) and then put it out of your mind and move on.

4. Including a leadership role in Toastmasters on my resume

I’ve read a previous post that mentioned the benefits of including Toastmasters on a resume. My question is more related to how to include it on a resume.

I’m currently the president of my club, which means I manage every aspect of the club. My club has struggled for years, and the last time we had any type of recognizable status was in 2011. However, my club is currently on pace to achieve nine out of 10 goals this term (we currently have met five goals and we’re just about halfway through the term).

I don’t have any managerial skills. Being a manager with my current employer is too political and doesn’t really allow for real change, so I tend to avoid manager jobs. However, I think it would be great to showcase what type of leader I am and help strengthen me as a candidate in roles that require similar skills. How should I include this on my resume? Should I add my role as president like I would any other job or put it somewhere else? I essentially want to be able to show all that the club has achieved during my term.

I wouldn’t include it in your employment history section, since it’s not really a job in that sense. But you can absolutely include it in a Community Involvement or Miscellaneous section or something like that, with one line describing the accomplishments you talked about above.

5. We were told we’d have the holiday off and now might have to work it

I was at work with two other employees discussing the Thanksgiving break. My boss walked up as we were talking about it and said, “No one has to worry about getting the day off. We are closed that day, and the day after Thanksgiving.” A week later, his wife kept trying to get him to keep the store open (after we had been told that we get the day off, and everyone has made plans by now). The schedule is still not up for the next week of work (the work week goes Sunday-Saturday).

Is it legal for him to make us work after hes verbally told everyone the store will be closed that day? Also, he told his wife that if she could get people to work that day, then we would stay open. Her way of getting a crew for the day was calling and saying, “You’re working on Friday now,” not caring they already told us we have the day off, and that we have made plans, have flights purchased and everything.

Yes, that’s legal — but you can certainly push back and explain that you already made other commitments and purchased plane tickets because he had assured you that you would have the day off.